Integrating Positive Psychology and Music Therapy to Alleviate Adolescent Anxiety- a Randomized Control Trial

Background: Positive psychology, with its emphasis on building up a person’s cognitive, emotional, and social strengths, provides a sound theoretical basis in programs for anxious adolescents. In positive psychology, hope, emotional competence, and social problem solving are three key constructs that embrace the cognitive, emotional and social aspects of an individual. In addition, music therapy enables adolescents to explore and understand their emotions, cognition, and behavior in a musical environment where their hope, emotional competence, and problem-solving abilities can be developed and enhanced. Hence, elements of music therapy will be integrated with positive psychology in designing an intensive group-based program for adolescents with anxiety.

Goals:

1. To integrate positive psychology (hope & emotional intelligence) and elements of music therapy in designing a group protocol for alleviating adolescents’ anxiety and increasing their happiness.

2. To examine the effectiveness of the designed protocol in increasing the sense of hope and enhancing emotional intelligence, hence decreasing anxiety and increasing subjective happiness of the adolescents.

3. To test the applicability of music therapy in enhancing positive psychology constructs in adolescents.

   Objectives:

• To increase adolescents’ sense of hope by helping them establish goals, devising multiple pathways towards the achievement of goals, and helping them maintain goal-pursuit motivation.

• To enhance adolescents’ emotional intelligence by teaching them effective emotion management skills.

   

Methods: A randomized wait-list controlled trial was conducted. A total of 63 students with mean age 13.6 from six different secondary schools studying Grade 8 to 9 in Hong Kong was randomly assigned to join the programme, while another 51 students act as wait-list control group. They had anxiety score 9 or above in the Anxiety Sub-scale of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Pre-test and post-test data was collected to examine the adolescents’ change after participating in a 10-session programme. The programme was run by two part-time counsellors with basic training in positive psychology and music therapy. Measures include Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Dispositional Hope Scale, Social Problem Solving Inventory, Emotional Intelligence Scale.

Results: The interaction effect of Time x Group on anxiety, emotional competence, hope, and social problem solving was examined using mixed ANOVA, with gender, grade and religious belief controlled. Students in the experimental group had significant decrease in anxiety, increase in emotional competence and hope, increase in happiness after controlling for the change in the control group, while no significant interaction effect was found in social problem solving.

Conclusion: Integrating positive psychology and elements of music therapy is effective in enhancing hope and emotional competence, decreasing anxiety and increasing subjective happiness in adolescents. Hence, further promotion of similar programme in schools is necessary to alleviate adolescent anxiety.